


Weightless

by Isis



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Feelings Realization, Grief/Mourning, Mention of Canonical Character Death, Not Compliant with Avatar Comics, Post-Canon, Spirit World (Avatar), Spirit World Vacation, Takes Place Directly After s04e13, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27386950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isis/pseuds/Isis
Summary: Sometimes the spirits know what we’re looking for better than we do.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 16
Kudos: 53
Collections: Femslash Exchange 2020





	Weightless

**Author's Note:**

  * For [girlonthelasttrain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlonthelasttrain/gifts).



> Yes, there are a bazillion Spirit World Vacation fics out there - have another! I made a vague nod in the direction of what the wiki tells me is comics canon, but I haven't read them.
> 
> Thanks to peristeronic for beta.

They emerged in a broad, shallow pond dotted with bright flowers. Actually, thought Asami, it was more of a meadow, green grass and colorful blooms covered with a fingersbreadth of water which sloshed gently around her feet. It was wide and circular, approximately the size of the blasted area that surrounded the portal on the Republic City side, but it looked less like an impact crater and more like an oversized version of the water gardens that wealthy Earth Kingdom nobles liked to have on their estates.

“Wow, sorry,” said Korra, looking around. “I didn’t realize this portal wouldn’t open where the Southern and Northern portals do. I didn’t mean to land us in a lake!” She dropped Asami’s hand and reached out in the beginnings of a bending motion, but Asami stopped her.

“I’m fine. My boots are waterproof, and anyway, I don’t mind getting a little wet. And I assume you don’t either, Miss Waterbender.”

“That’s Miss Avatar to you,” retorted Korra, and they both laughed.

“So which way?”

“I have no idea. You choose.”

Asami looked around. The pond lay among glacier-topped mountains, the frigid rivulets that fed it dotted with clumps of ice and snow. Toward one side the water drained off into a narrow stream, and the grass and flowers that formed its bottom angled up into a ramp that seemed to call to her. Beyond was a forest, and she thought she could see the glimmering wisps of spirits. “That way,” she said, pointing, and they sloshed their way through the water and onto dry land.

The grassy ramp turned into a well-trodden path which soon joined what was clearly an established road, edged with small rocks and flowers. One direction led toward the mountains, the other toward the forest. 

“Do you know where we are?” asked Asami.

Korra shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“ _You’ve_ been here before.”

“The spirit world isn’t like our world. Roads don’t always lead to the same place every time you take them.”

“Huh. How does that even work?”

“I don’t know.” She stared off over Asami’s shoulder, a slight smile on her face. Like she was remembering something. A good memory? Maybe a bittersweet one. It was hard to tell sometimes, with Korra. She’d changed a lot in those three years after the Red Lotus had poisoned her, become more thoughtful, more deliberate. It was clear she was still haunted by some of the things she’d done, even when she’d had no other choice. “Sometimes the spirits know what we’re looking for better than we do.”

“Well, I’m looking for a relaxing vacation,” Asami declared. _Both of us could use one._ “How about that, spirits?”

A pink butterfly darted out from behind a rock – no, a butterfly _spirit_ , Asami reminded herself. It circled the two women, fluttering its wings, then zipped off along the road in the direction of the forest. 

Asami watched it fly off, bemused. “Does that mean _go this way_?”

“It might as well,” said Korra. She grinned. “Come on!”

The air smelled different than it did in Republic City, decided Asami as she walked alongside Korra on the path to the forest; it was sweeter and softer, fragrant with the scent of pine needles and crushed leaves. Of course, it was probably the difference between being in a city and being in the countryside. She was used to the screeching of Satomobiles and the hum of electricity, the smoky tang of chimney fires and the spicy scent of food-stalls. Even when she was in the Sato mansion, or out at their warehouses or workshops, it wasn’t the manicured grounds or the fresh air off the mountains that filled her senses, but the smell of hot oil and grinding metal. 

The thought of the Future Industries workshops made her mind turn to her father. It made her heart ache just thinking about it: no sooner had she forgiven him than she had lost him again. Oh, she should be thankful, she knew, that they’d had any time at all together after his betrayal. If he hadn’t been as persistent as he had been, they’d never have been reconciled – and probably they would never have defeated Kuvira, she had to remember that. She wouldn’t be here with Korra, strolling through the bright and unfamiliar forest of the spirit world, if things hadn’t happened the way they had, the bad along with the good. Everything was bittersweet, it seemed, for her as well as for Korra.

“Iroh!” said Korra suddenly. Her voice was filled with delight, and it brought Asami back to the here-and-now with a jolt. She’d been looking into her own past, not looking around them, and suddenly she saw that they were in a clearing in the forest, a green dell surrounded by trees, and in the middle was...a table set for tea?

The seats along the long sides of the table were filled by a bewildering variety of spirits. There were spirits that looked like familiar animals, and spirits that looked like nothing she’d ever seen, all translucent and brightly-colored, all turning inquisitive faces toward her and Korra. At the head of the table sat a jolly-looking old man with a long white beard.

“Korra! You’re just in time for tea.” He waved a hand and somehow two chairs near him were empty, even though it didn’t look as though any of the spirits at the table had moved. “Please, sit down, you and your friend.”

“Iroh, this is Asami,” said Korra, and Asami bowed to the old man, who bowed back. 

“A good choice. A beautiful and intelligent woman, my favorite kind,” said Iroh. Asami blushed; from another man it would have sounded cliché and vaguely provocative, but somehow from this grandfatherly old man it had the ring of a genuine compliment. “How are things in the world?”

“You were right,” said Korra. “It helped to talk with Zuko. He set me on the path I needed to follow.”

“Good. My nephew has his faults, but he is a good man. Otherwise he would never have become friends with Aang.”

Asami frowned. “Wait, you’re _that_ Iroh? Lord Zuko’s uncle? I thought –” She broke off, not wanting to be rude.

“You thought I was dead!” said Iroh, smiling broadly. He did not look offended in the least. “That is understandable. After all, my body is dead, if not my spirit.”

“You came to the spirit world when you died? Is that what happens?” A wild bubble of hope formed in her heart; she could feel it pounding there, wanting to be let out. Because if that was what happened, she could see her father again! She could tell him all the things she’d never had the chance to say back in Republic City. 

And maybe a little bit of that hope escaped to her lips, to make them smile, because Iroh shook his head sadly. “Hiroshi Sato is not here, child.”

Her face fell, the bubble in her heart turning to lead. “But _you_ are.”

“It is a very unusual thing, to be able to leave one’s body when one no longer needs it, to enter the spirit world. I could do so because I had spent much time here while I was alive, seeking out the guidance of the spirits. I learned much from them – and I am still learning! See, I have become much more skilled at making tea.” He lifted the teapot from the table, sniffed the aroma appreciatively, then poured them each a cup. “Your father dedicated himself to machinery, not spirits – though his was no less worthy a pursuit.”

Asami stared at the steam coming from the cup in front of her. It curled into wisps that seemed to take on the beginnings of shapes of creatures, the suggestions of lion-turtles and polar bear-dogs. She even caught a glimpse of something that looked like their hummingbird suits before it melted away into the air. Just another cruel reminder – oh, she knew Lord Iroh hadn’t intended cruelty, but still, for that one heart-pounding moment she had hoped...

“Drink the tea,” said Iroh. “Tea makes everything better.”

“It really does,” said Korra, reaching for Asami’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. With her other hand, she lifted her cup to her lips. 

Asami took a sip from her own cup. It did taste good. It was tea, just tea – she wasn’t sure what she had expected, here in the spirit world – but at the same time there was something about it that reminded her of being a child, at home with her parents. The scent made her think of her mother’s perfume, which was odd, because she barely remembered what her mother had looked like, let alone her perfume. But she remembered her father dancing with her mother, swinging her around as the baby Asami sat on the floor and clapped her hands. He’d been so happy then.

It was strange and somehow comforting to think of him that way – not as the driven genius, not as the duplicitous betrayer, not as the contrite prisoner. Her parents were no longer alive, in the spirit world or in the real world, but they’d always be in her memories, and that was a good thing.

She took another sip. It almost felt as though the tea was loosening the knot in her chest, giving her lungs more room. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Maybe the tea really _was_ magic.

“There, you see?” said Iroh, beaming. “We drink tea when we are with our families. And the taste will always remind us of those we love.”

“Those we love,” echoed Korra. Her voice sounded a little odd; Asami looked over at her, and was she actually blushing? She took a long drink from her teacup, and sighed. “You’ve always been a great friend to me. To us.”

Iroh nodded, a sadness in his eyes. “Ah, yes. It must hurt a great deal to have lost your connection to those who came before you. But I still see Aang in you, even if you cannot sense him yourself. You are still part of the great line of Avatars.”

“For now I just want to be Korra. And spend time with my friend.” Her eyes met Asami’s, and yes, she was definitely blushing. It made her look younger, more carefree, thought Asami; it must be hard to be the Avatar, to be responsible for the world’s balance. And yet it was not just what she’d been born to do, but what she truly loved doing. She remembered the letters she’d received from her during her convalescence, Korra’s frustration coming through in every line. It had been clear that she wanted to recover not for herself – well, not _only_ for herself – but so that she could do her job.

But that _look_ , the pink in Korra’s cheeks – what was that about? Korra looked away, and suddenly Asami remembered Iroh’s words. _The taste will always remind us of those we love._ Asami had thought he meant _family_ , for that was what she’d been thinking about – but had he meant something else?

Had _Korra_ thought he’d meant something else?

Asami felt her own cheeks redden. She hadn’t been thinking of Korra that way, not really – but now that she did, it made something grow warm inside her. Korra was her friend, sure, but when she actually thought about it? Korra was the best friend she had. _Love_ was a complicated word to apply. But – she _did_ love Korra, in a multiplicity of ways. Could it be that Korra felt the same?

“We’re on vacation,” said Asami, finally.

“A very good idea,” said Iroh. “Especially after everything you have both been through.”

Korra took another sip of tea. “It’s been hard. I still feel almost guilty that I’m not still out there, helping.”

“Even the Avatar deserves a vacation,” said Iroh. He nodded to them both. “Please, enjoy your time in the spirit world.”

“It was good to see you again, old friend,” said Korra warmly.

“It was good to meet you,” said Asami. And it _had_ been good, she thought; there was something inside her that felt at peace, in a way she hadn’t felt before.

The set their empty cups on the table, then stood and bowed to Iroh. “Back to the road?” asked Korra.

“Sure. Let’s see where else the spirits want us to go.”

They left the clearing and continued into the forest. The sounds of the spirits around them made a sort of music, and the fragrance of the trees seemed to blend with the lingering taste of the tea in Asami’s mouth. It seemed as though all her senses were heightened, all the scents stronger, all the colors brighter. Was that what happened in the spirit world? She turned her head to regard Korra, who was striding along beside her; she seemed to almost glow, her skin luminous, her feet barely touching the ground. She’d always been beautiful, thought Asami, but here in the spirit world she seemed to overflow with energy, as though her soul were too great to be contained in a mere body.

Abruptly, as though sensing Asami’s regard, Korra stopped and turned to her. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“About your father. I can’t imagine what it was like to get him back, then lose him again.”

“It was hard. But he’ll always be in my heart. I can remember the good things, and – I think I’ve finally accepted the bad things. I mean I forgave him, but –”

Korra nodded. “But there was still a little poison in your body, weighing you down.”

“Exactly. I feel lighter now that it’s gone.” Impulsively she took Korra’s hand. Korra’s fingers curled around her own, strong and warm. An iridescent blue bird-spirit flew over their heads, heading in the direction the path was taking them. “I hope the tea helped you feel lighter, as well. It must have been hard to lose your connection with all your past lives.”

“Iroh said they’re all still there. That’s comforting to know, at least. I felt so alone for so long.”

“You know you’re not alone,” said Asami. She took a step closer to Korra, looked into her shining eyes.

“I know,” said Korra softly. She leaned forward and kissed Asami’s lips, then glided into her arms like a spirit herself, weightless and bright.


End file.
